When I Look At You
by LeilaOpheliaRose
Summary: Kim Connweller has been crushing on Jared since the first grade, failing to gain his attention to no avail. But, one day, on look, and that all suddenly changes. Follows the same timeline as other stories. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
1. Rainy Days and Jared Purser

**Hello peoples! This is, yet, ANOTHER attempt at a fanfic. I trully have my heart set out on this, as I have 4 or 5 stories already planned to follow this. So, I hope you all enjoy this and hope to follow my representation of how I think the Twilight world would follow in the wolves world rather than more focused on the vamps. Thanks, enjoy, and god bless!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight. If I did, I would be publishing this and making millions instead of writing to a few people online! =P**

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><p>I rushed through the parking lot of my high school, holding my binder above my head to shield myself from the ice-cold pellets of water falling to the ground. Stupid La Push, always raining. Guess that's the joy of living within the Marine Climate. You see, because of the Coriolis Effect, caused by the rotation of the earth, the Alaskan and Japanese currents intersect off the coast of Washington. They tend to bring bucket-loads of rain. Also, the fact that I live in <em>western <em>Washington doesn't help either, considering we also have orographic rain caused by the Cascade Mountains, as well.

Why do I know this entire useless load of knowledge? Because I have nothing else better to do with my time, but read. I don't go out, I don't party, and I don't date (not that anyone would ever ask me out anyways). I'm just the quiet girl that sits in the back corner of the classroom and observes everyone else have fun and be teenagers. I know everyone else's name in my grade, but, yet, few can remember mine. Even with the fact that we have all been in the same classes since grade school.

But, that's okay with me. I prefer to be in the background. It makes my embarassing moments less embarrassing when noone notices. There's only one person I care what they think about me, and that's my life-long crush, Jared Purser. Of course, my invisibility is not subject to him either.

Walking through the front double doors of the school, I shook the excess rain off of my binder and unzipped my rain jacket, welcoming in the warmth of the indoors. I yanked my earbuds out of my ears and shoved them into my satchel. I yanked my long, pony free from the hood of my jacket and smoothed my hair back down. Not because I wanted to look great, but because my shorter layers were an inconvenience in such weather and would just be a bother in my face. I want to look presentable to a certain level, but not like the majority of the fake, painted on masks of girls around here. Trudging through the hallways and being surrounded by criticizing, masochistic piranhas, you'd think I'd care about how I look and what they think of me. But, I don't. They don't notice me. I'm the invisible one. Kind of like one of those walkways, where the floor suddenly becomes higher than the other, thus causing an uneven surface that you don't notice until you stomp your toe on. Likewise, no one notices me unless they run into me. Literally. Happened countless times.

I walked right into my first class, as I was already late and had no time to stop by my locker to drop off my books, and sat in my seat in the very back corner farthest from the door. Sighing, I pulled the books I needed for my current class, Biology, and placed my bag and remaining books beside my chair. The bell rang and the classroom flooded with students. My best friend, Gracie, plopped down beside me with a humph. I raised my eyebrows at her questionably. She answered by leaning her head back over the top of her chair and rolling her eyes, making an exasperated noise in the back of her throat.

"You don't _even_ wanna know." She mumbled. She was right; I most likely didn't. When it came to the pale, light blonde, pale, beautiful, _pale_ chick beside me, the possibilities were endless. Her southern blood ran wild through her veins and drove me absolutely _insane_ someday's. Though she's been living in the north-west for almost ten years now, she still clung to her southern drawl, southern slang, southern food cravings, southern sayings, and southern hospitality. She's a southern-belle. She had been my best friend since she first moved here in the second grade. I have two other friends also, but Gracie always seemed to get me better. We just clicked from day one.

Our teacher, Mr. Morrison, finally walked in, already beginning to talk to the half-awake carefree teens that filled the room. Half the girls sat to attention at his presence, the half didn't really give a hoot. Like me.

Mr. Morrison is a young, vibrant (hot) teacher that the school recently brought in to "rekindle" student's interest in this certain subject. In other words, they hired a sex god for the girls to lust over to keep their attention in class and not ditch to go get pregnant or high. He had pale skin (compared to the floods of russet skin around here), locks of brown, wispy curls, and blue eyes.

After hearing the opening statements of his lesson, I realized that it would be pretty much a recap of yesterday. I grabbed my notebook and began to doodle. I practically knew everything in our textbook anyways. Lame-o me, I know. After a few minutes of the 'amazing' makeup of DNA, the door to the old, slightly musty room creaked open. Probably just another late student.

"Sorry, Mr. Morrison. Sam Uley needed me or some work 'round the rez." An all-too familiar voice filled the room. My head snapped up to reveal my instincts were right. Jared Purser. I melted right then and there. After not showing up for weeks, I figured that he had moved. Or died. That is until Gracie saw him and Sam Uley's 'gang' hanging around some random outskirts of forest a week ago. She had told me that he had changed, but my imagination pictured nothing like _this_.

Jared had always been built to some extent, but _holy mother_! This was _steroid _huge! And was it healthy to grow an entire foot in less than a month?

I don't know what words were said between him and the teacher, I was too in shock. I figured that since Sam was technically the 'cheif' of the tribe now, he would let it all slide out of repect, even if the dude was white and lived in Forks. He always seemed to think more highly of all of our native sacred traditions than anyone of the teens here did. Not that that is a bad thing, it just meant that it was easier for us to slip b on things. He really had no idea about native americans, so most kids could tell him that they were ditched class the other day because they had a runny noe and had to meet with a tribal leader to have a him do a 'holy dance' around him and make it all better. But at least he cared.

I glanced around quickly to see if anyone else had noticed Jared's change too. Only a few were staring him down with odd expressions. The guys with envy and the girls with, well, lust. So much for the new 'hot' teacher. Those girls attention will now be on Jared only. As well as my attention, although that's nothing new.

Jared began to walk back towards my corner, where the only free seat happened to be right in front of me. Of course. Perfect.

He dropped his bag tiredly and slumped into his chair, causing the navy blue plastic to bend backwards and collide with my desk, knocking all of my supplies off of it. I heard him swear quickly then bend over to pick up the dispersed pencils and pens on the floor.

"Sorry." He mumbled tiredly. I blushed. The first words he had ever spoken directly to me. And I'd been crushin' on the dude since the first grade. Go figure.

"Uh…uh, um…" Nice vocab there, Kim! "Yeah, no prob." I whispered quietly, looking straight at his beautiful, angelic face. His features had grown more angular, more defined. He looked like a man. A hot, _sexy_ man.

As he handed the items he'd gathered into his large, brawny hand to me, he looked up at my face and suddenly the world stopped. My lungs didn't suck in any air, nor did it let any out. My heart didn't skip a beat, it stopped completely. And my world didn't crash, it BURNED LIKE FIRE. If all I had before was a crush, then this must be love.

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><p><strong>Welp, that's it, hope y'all enjoyed it! Since this is the first chapter, PLEASE review so I know if I should continue or not! Thank you so much!<strong>


	2. Russian Lunch Ladies and Open Books

**Hola peoples! Sooooo sorry for the wait, but when I DID upload this, I uploaded it to the wrong story like the ditz I am, lol. So if you are reading this, I am SOOO glad that you have decided to stick with me on this and continue reading. NOW, on to the story, because I know that ppl just skip these boring author notes anyways, ! And also, specail thanks to those that reviewed! Y'all are the inspiration behind this chapter! GOD BLESS!**

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><p>"What. The HELL was that?" Gracie immediately demanded, grabbing my arm in a firm grip and successfully pulling me to a side hallway away from the lockers and scrambling crowds.<p>

"I don't know what you're talking about" I mumbled, rubbing my arm where she had insulted it. I stared blankly at my scuffed up, muddy converse below me and heard her huph in obvious frustration.

"Oh, come on! Jared Purser has been oblivious of your existence for over 12 years and all of the sudden he can't take his eyes off of you? This is, like, big screen romance impossible! That just doesn't happen in real life, Kimmy!"

"I get it!" I snapped, cutting her little rampage of 'impossible possibilities' short. Shooting her a glare I turned and walked away.

_Jared Purser did not talk to me. Jared Purser did not look at me. Jared Purser did not…_

"Kim!" _CRAAAPPPP! Just keep walking and maybe he won't…_

"Kim." And iron grip around my arm was suddenly yanking me backward. I stumbled back and hit something so hard that it knocked the breath out of me. Gasping for breath, the person released me. I turned to face whoever it was, still trying to catch my breath.

Jared.

Of course.

"Oh my God, Kim. Are you okay?" He nearly shrieked. A tone so high coming out of a man so, so…so HUGE, should be nearly impossible, but a lot of things have pushed reality's rims today, so all I could do was giggle. I friggin' giggled…and he smiled, relieved almost.

"I'll take that as a yes?" he questioned, smiling, but still nevertheless confused. I simply nodded.

"Um, hi…I'm…I'm Jared."

"I know." I replied before I could stop myself. I could feel the heat in my cheeks.

"Oh, well then…you're Kim, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" I was seriously confused at this point. What the crap has gotten into him? Is this some kind of dare or joke between him and his friends. 'See if you can get the quiet freak-girl to talk to you'?

"Jared," I stopped him when he opened his mouth up to say something. "What do you want?" I asked getting straight to the point.

"Uhhhh…" he ever so smartly replied. He stood there for a few minutes with his mouth hanging wide open. If he wasn't so hot, he'd look like a retard.

"I want to talk to you…and walk you to lunch?" He said unsure of himself.

"Why?" the bitch in me was seriously choosing the wrong day to come out.

"Um, well…." He seemed to think about it for a moment before responding, "Because I want to talk to you about the project we were paired up on."

"What project?" I seriously didn't know what he was talking about!

"The Biology project! Its due in two weeks and I was wondering if you would be my partner?" He seemed a little hopeful, but it was probably just my imagination.

"Okaaaayyyy…" Still confused, I turned on my heel and strode towards the cafeteria.

"Is that a yes to lunch then?" He asked from over my shoulder, keeping up with my stride easily.

"Sure." I answered indifferently, but inside, my stomach was doing somersaults.

_**Jared's POV**_

"Sup with you?" Paul asked round a mouthful of food from his tray as we went through the line.

"Patatoes or Squash?" the lunchroom lady asked carelessly from behind the server.

"Um," I looked down at my options-green potatoes or black squash "Squash."

She dumped a spoonful and passed it on.

"What do you mean?" I asked Paul.

"I _mean_, you are acting strange. You're smiling like the creep you are. When we passed Keri Herring in all her unclothed goodness, she pretended to drop her fork just so she could bend over and give you a peek and you_ didn't even look_! YOU, my friend, are not in your right mind today."

"I imprinted." I stated simply, yet low enough for just him hear in case someone was listening in. Paul's mouth full of food suddenly was ejecting that food all over the glass that, thankfully, sheltered the food.

"_YOU WHAT?"_ Everyone turned to look at the commotion and the room silenced. The lunch staff were all giving Paul the evil eye. One woman began to curse him out in Russian as she waddled her large arse off to the cleaning closet.

"Shhh…cause a riot why don't you?" I glared at him.

"On _who?"_

"Gee, try not to act too shocked." I rolled my eyes, not allowing his insults to ruin my perfect mood.

"Alright, cut the sarcasm here. Seriously, who the hell is stuck with your ass for all of eternity? I'd like to give her a head start in case she wants to make a run for it." He joked. At least I hoped.

"Haha. And actually, I have lunch with her today." I answered, smiling, and sauntering off to find the most beautiful girl in the Universe.

And there she sat, all alone at a table towards the back corner, nibbling on a carrot stick whilst reading an open book. Her full attention was on the book so she didn't see me as I timidly approached her and sat down in front of her. She had one of her elbows propped up on the pages of the book so it wouldn't close, her hair falling in front of her face. And as I got the courage to speak, she looked up at me, realizing my presence. And I realized, this woman in front of me is absolutely stunning. Fate knew I couldn't ahve chosen anyone HALF as perfect as her, so, as seems to be a ritual here in my life lately, fate intervened.

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><p><strong>Happy holiday weekend! And as always, reviews are VERY much appreciated and all questions will tried to be answered within 2 wks.<strong>


	3. Sherlock Holmes and Secret Glares

"Um…hi, again." I offered him a tentative smile, still unsure of his intentions, or sudden interest for that matter. I mean, we he's been unaware of my existence yesterday and today he is following me around like a lost puppy.

"Hi." He smiled back at me, equally as unsure, a look not exactly fitting on his face. My heart stuttered a bit though at the gesture, and as if he heard it, his smile suddenly grew confident and beautiful. The smile known to be on his face, not the other nervous smile.

Let me give you a little background here. Jared Purser. Known bad-boy and notorious womanizer. And the infatuation of my thoughts forever. I always knew better than to go gaga over the one guy all the girls wanted. But, even more so than to fall for the type of guy that Jared was. Being in a monogamous relationship was deemed 'painful' for him and his best friend, Paul. And completing any assignments at all, not to mention on time, was not a goal that they worked towards, let alone accomplished. Gracie and my brother, Justin, never understood my fascination with him. But, maybe it was the fact that I viewed him in a way no one else viewed him. I saw the little things. Like the way his forehead creases when he doesn't understand a problem, or how all of his pencils have chew marks on them. Or how his black eyes sparkle when he is laughing at something, and when he smiles his eyes crinkle. And the way that his hair is always messy, but looks like he spent hours fixing it, even though I know he doesn't even worry with it. How he lies outside in his front lawn with his dog beside him, gazing up at the stars. How in science he was really good at astronomy, but horrible at botany. How he never is cruel or mean to anyone unlike his friend Paul, he was just associated with the bullying being tied to that horribly rude person. But, of course, people always dwell on the facts, like how he's been arrested a few times for some violent fights on school grounds, smoking and drinking under aged, and vandalizing private property. But those were things I've always been more than convinced his friends led him to doing. Nothing he would just go out and do for the heck of it, not that that justifies anything.

"Soooo…." I drug out.

"Um, what are you reading?" he asked, nodding towards my open book.

"Just Sherlock Holmes." I replied blushing. Darn shyness was creeping back again.

His eyes grew wide with excitement. "No way! Those are my favorite books!"

I couldn't help but giggle at his excitement, although I was genuinely shocked. Shocked that he read, maybe a little, shocked that he read such extensive books as Sherlock Holmes, very,

"Mine too. I collect the oldest models that I can find. Kinda a hobby, I guess." I shrugged, suddenly realizing I was sharing something that few people knew about me with practically a complete stranger.

"Really? That is so cool! I'll have to check out your collection sometime then, if you don't mind." He raised his eyebrows as if waiting for my approval. Did he just invite himself to my home? Oh my God, he wants to go to my home. _My_ home.

"Uh…eh…uuuuuhhh, yeah…sure?" He grinned again, this time more relaxed, as he looked down and grabbed some of the nearly inedible food off his tray and swallowing it whole.

"Cool." He mumbled around his mouthful of food "When you wanna work on the project?"

"The what?" I asked clueless.

"The project. Ya know, the one I was talking about earlier.

"Oh!" I suddenly felt very dense, and slightly embarrassed, "Yeah, _that_ project…"

"So, when are you free?" He asked.

_Every night for the rest of eternity _I thought

"Whenever." I answered instead.

"Today good?" I nearly choked on a piece of chicken I was chewing "Oh my God, Kim! Are you okay?"

Flushed and afraid to use my words, I simply nodded.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm sure." Way to stay cool, Kimberly!

"Ok." He still looked worried.

"What time?" I asked quietly, not quite sure why I was allowing this. It was probably some ploy his friends talked him into doing. But, as soon as that thought passed through my mind, I backtracked, immediately feeling bad. I knew he wasn't as low as his friends, even if he did do the same stupid things they did, he wasn't heartless like them. That just wasn't his style.

"After school? I can give you a ride if you need one, unless you drove yourself."

"I actually walked today, but I usually drive." I answered quietly.

"Great!" His face brightened. I looked at my watch then back around me, just then noticing that the lunchroom had emptied out the majority of students.

"I better get going, my friends go off premises to eat, but if I'm late to class, they will send a search party after me." I might have over exaggerated on the words 'friends', really I only had two friends that were incredibly close, but I had four collectively. Two of which attend a prep school in Seattle and live there during the school year, though.

"Ha, okay. I'll see you after school. Meet me by my car, it's in the side parking lot, closest to the exit." I had to refrain myself from another _'yeah, I know'_ slipping out of my mouth again. Instead I just merely bit my lip and nodded, grabbing up my bag and tray. I dumped my tray and strode out the double doors towards my next class, but before I left, I saw Paul talking to Jared from the seat I had just been sitting in. He seemed to be disgusted at him about something. Then, suddenly, he looked up and connected my gaze, which he returned with a glare. My shy, introverted self, bowed my head and turned away, not sure of what exactly I had just witnessed, or was in the middle of. I just knew that something weird was going on and I had just been _majorly_ dragged into the center of it all. My stomach dropped.


	4. Authors Note 1

**Okay y'all, I'm terribly sorry bout the wait for an update, but I just had surgery to remove all 4 of my Wisdom teeth this past Thursday, and I'm still not fully recovered from it. I have like a constant punding pain (like a headache) in my jaw, which furthermore leads to a headache. So I will tell you that I will TRY to get another chapter up by Monday, but I ain't makin' no promise cuz I don't break promise and I can't garrauntee anything here. Thank y'all for sticking it out with me, just pray if you could for me that I will recover soon and be back on my feet with another chapter! Y'all are the best! GOD BLESS!**


	5. Bodybags and Food Sex

**Kim **

"You're _WHAT?" _Gracie screeched into my ear for, seemingly, the millionth time that day. People walking down the halls turned to shoot us strange stares.

"Shhh….geesh, advertise it why don't you!"

"Well, I'm just in shock, that's all….okay, so start from the beginning again."

"Ugh…okay, last time though!" I warned "He wanted to eat lunch with me, so he came and sat at my table. We chatted for a little while about trivial things and then he mentioned the assignment and asked when we could work on it. And that's how he ended planning on coming over to my house." I sighed, looking at my feet casually. Gracie had her arm slung lazily through mine as we sauntered through the halls of La Push High to our next and final class of the day. An everyday occurrence with an odd twist of conversation.

"But, Kimmy, _no one_ has _ever_ been to your house. Like _really_ been to your house." She whispered lowly, looking around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

"I know." This was a factor I was fully aware of. Putting on the front of a normal teen on the res, I, along with my family (my mother, step-dad, and Grampy), had put up a good front. That is, until I had to go and risk it all with some guy who has an uncontrollable urge to apparently make my life much more confusing then need be. I mean, sure, we'd had the occasional mail man brave the brush and over-grown weeds at our front drive to come down to what the mask of carelessness was hiding, but they never lived too close on the res, normally just in or outside Forks. Grace had been one of my few friends to have known where I live, let alone have actually _seen _my house.

"So, what are you going to do?" She prodded gently.

"The only thing I can do….take him home…" Gracie's eyes grew into saucers as she stared at me like I'd grown two heads.

"_Seriously?_"

"Seriously." I stated, and left her behind as her arm fell out of mine. Her mouth wide open and her feet at a standstill. After a moment she closed her mouth and walked up to where I stood, looping her arm back through mine.

"Let's just pray you don't have to pull out the body bags." She laughed. My eyes grew wide in horror.

"I was just kidding Kim." She rolled her eyes.

"Note to self-hide all weapons/potential weapons." She giggled and pulled on my arm as we continued our walk to class.

I groaned.

**Jared**

"Dude, man, you're already going to the chicks _house_?" Embry exclaimed, sitting on the wet ground in his usual cut-offs. Having just gotten off patrol, we have a general rule to bring whoever missed lunch a meal from the cafeteria. Today was no exception as he, Quil, and Jacob sat on the grass nearest the woods, chomping down food like it was going out of style. If this is what I looked like while eating, I would need to make a mental note to cool it down around Kim. I might scare her off. Expecially if I have these expressions on my face. While Embry was too busy swallowing his food to taste it, Quil was making grunting noises that were making even _me_ uncomfortable, and Jacob was gazing at his like he had just imprinted on his hoagie.

"Yes, I am. And Quil, dude, could you seriously stop having sex with your food, it's unnerving."

"You're just jealous you don't have this kind of relationship with food like I do. It's utterly earth shattering." He said in all seriousness.

"I earnestly hope not." I retorted, still looking at him down the shaft of my crinkled up nose.

"So, who is this chick?" Jake asked.

"Kim Connweller." I answered, my face automatically turning up into an ear-splitting grin.

"Connweller….Conweller…God, why does that sound so familiar." Embry asked.

"Because she sits right next to you in Geometry, Jack Ass." Paul answered, rolling his eyes. He was leaned up against the brick wall of the back of the school building that met the woods. He took another long drag from his cigarette.

"Oh my God! _Kim Connweller?_"

"That's what he just said, smart one." Quil retorted, giving him a head-slap.

"Ow! No need to get violent, I was just saying that she and I used to hang out a bit back in Junior High. We still talk a bit here and there, but we aren't as close ever since my change. But, she never, and I mean _ever_ lets _anyone_ come to her house. Heck, I don't even know where she lives. She completely avoids the subject, actually. I've met her family, nice people all in all, but something's a little off with them. Like they are hiding one big secret." Embry finished, taking another bit out of his sandwich.

"Kind of like us?" Paul asked, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

"Dude, what crawled up your ass?" Jake asked him, with a quizzical stare.

"Nothing, I just don't like this whole 'imprint' idea. I mean, Jared didn't even know who the hell this chick was until suddenly these supernatural forces _forced _ him to notice her." I subconciously growled.

"Watch it." I warned. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Whatev, man. I'm just trying to spare you the chase here. I think it's a waste of effort. A girl like her will never fall for a guy like you."

"I guess we'll find out, now won't we." I answered, walking off towards my truck to wait out the remainder of the class time. I'd already missed half of the class, might as well bail out of the rest.


	6. Betty Crocker and Jaw Popping Skills

"Hey," Gracie nudged me as we walked out into the rain, pulling our hoods over our heads, "looks like Prince Charming awaits." She nodded to the area of the parking lot where I knew Jared Purser's permanent parking space was. I sighed and turned, angling my body more towards Gracie and my back towards Jared, hoping that he wouldn't notice me quite yet.

"I've gotta make a call first. Can we catch up later?" I pulled my cell from my raincoat pocket.

"Yeah, no prob. Love you girl." She said pulling me into a tight hug. "Good luck." She whispered in my ear. With one last smile, she turned and ran off to catch up with Tristan, her on-again, off-again beau.

Walking behind a bricked area of the school, I immediately speed dialed home. A raspy voice greeted me on the opposite line.

"Sammy?" I couldn't help but smile at my grandfather's naturally gleeful, yet inquisitive, voice as he called me by his nickname he titled me with when I was a toddler. 'Sammy'; it was his wife's, my grandmother's, name. He says I'm the spitting image of her; everyone that knows her says that. I can't say I disagree.

"Hey Grampy, I'm kind of in a predicament." I chewed on my lip.

"Well, are you alright sweetheart?" He sounded anxious.

"Yes, sir. For now. But, I have a project due in class today, and I was paired with this guy. He's really nice, but kind of pushy and talks a lot. He kind of invited himself over to the house to work on the project and he is waiting in his truck for me now. What should I do?" Even I could hear the distress in my voice as he sighed on the other end. After a moment, he replied.

"Come on home, Kimberly. I'll inform your mother and Jay of his soon-to-be arrival. But, Sammy?"

"Hmm?"

"Stall him, give us some time."

"How?" I asked perplexed.

"You're your father's child, Kim. You'll find a way." Still unsure of his attempt of persuading me, I softly agreed and bid him farewell. Turning to walk back to the parking lot, still looking at my cell, I ran into the brick wall. Or so I thought.

There in front of me was Kameron. My twin brother. Also my full-time body guard. Crap.

"Ummmm…what are you doing back here?" He asked completely confused and on edge. Something was wrong.

"Uh…ju-just...ummm," Taking a moment to regain my composure, I tried to speak coherently, "I was just making a call home, letting my mom know I wasn't going over to Gracie's today, but coming straight home." There, not a lie, but rather partial truth.

"Why?" he asked me bluntly.

"Because a friend is coming over today to work on a project." Freind. Hmmm. Not exactly sure about that word to identify _whatever _our current status was.

"Who?" Again with the interrogatives.

"Jared Purser." I answered, slightly annoyed.

"No." he shrugged as if it was the easiest thing on earth.

"Well, that's just too bad, because mom and Gramps already agreed to him coming over today and are preparing for my arrival as we speak. I answered, crossing my arms and standing up a little straighter. He looked nift and beyond bewildered.

"They did?" I shook my head 'yes', "What the sam hill are they thinking?" He bellowed.

"I dunno, that there's really no reason to hold people back from coming over. Their safety won't be at risk anymore, you and I both know that dad's probably dead and they are probably through with our family. Surveilance ended a long time ago." He looked down slightly with sad eyes.

"Hey," a placed a hand on his arm, "he knew what he was getting himself into; what he was getting _all_ of us into. He loved us, but he was never one to sit on the sidelines while the bad guys got away. Kind of like someone else I know." A glimpse of a smile graced his face then, and he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm still trailing y'all all the way home." I laughed and slapped his arm as I walked towards the back corner of the parking lot and slid into the leather bench seat in Jared Purser's old, slightly worn truck.

"Well, are we ready to leave now? Half of the parking lot has emptied out already." He smiled at me from the driver's seat.

"Um…can we make a pit stop first? I gotta pick up some items for my mom; she wants to bake a cake for my grandfather's upcoming birthday."

_Wow, Kim. That was quick. Chip of the ole' block, aye?_

I rolled my eyes at my internal monologue as I slid into the long, worn leather seat in his truck. Great, now I'm hearing voices. I'm losing it.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, I saw Kameron's Candy Apple Red Camero pull out two car's behind us from the rearview mirror. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, it's this turn right here." I pointed out his window as he slowed down and began to turn into our brush-covered drive. It was forty minutes later, we were home and had a box of Betty Crocker and canned icing due to my lack of knowledge of cooking or baking. Like I know what ingredients are in icing or a cake. And Jared had just _insisted_ on paying. If he only knew we had enough money to buy the entire town and not be affected financially at all. Walking out of the store, I saw Kameron in his car parked in the next row over. He gave me a look as he pretended to bang his head against the steering wheel in desperation and boredom. I gigled and Jared looked at me quizzically, I just shook my hand and waved it off as nothing.

"Stop once you pull all the way in." After he did as I said, I jumped out and ran up to the stoned gate. I pressed the white square button that signalled the intercom.

"Perfect timing, Kim." I heard my mother's voice from the speaker. I smiled up at the camera that was pointing down at me.

"Thank you, mom. I got you some cake ingredients, so pretend like it's Grampy's birthday, okay?" Her laugh rang into my ears.

"Of course, baby girl."

I ran back over to the truck and hopped back in.

"K, let's go." I smiled timidly over at him. Driving down our long, 5-minute ride down our driveway, Jared began to look confused as he stared on ahead.

"It's a ways down here, isn't it?" he laughed. I smiled.

"Yeah, it is."

_Silence._

"Um, hey, Jared?"

"Yeah?"

"You won't go and tell the whole school if I happen to have a larger house than the average La Push population, would you?"

"Nooooo…." He drug out his answer.

"Good." I replied just as my house came into view and I sware, I heard his jaw pop.

"You live here?" I giggled and bit my lip nervously, stepping out of the pick-up and grabbing my bags.

"You comin'? I asked as my brother pulled up and parked in front of the fountain. I raised my eyebrow, knowing that he wasn't parking in his usual space in the garage, only to not miss anything.

"What the hell took you so long? You couldn't find the right brand of tampon's or somethin'?" I through the bag of ingredients at his head and he caught it before it hit his face.

"Cake ingredient's? Seriously?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Yep, turns out it Grampy's birthday." I smiled at him as he shook his head at me, just as Jared walked up.

"Mom?" I shouted as I walked through the front door. "I'm home."

"Hey baby." My mother gracefully walked in wearing a knee length red sleeveless dress that made her look ten years younger. She was young with or without the dress though, only being in her 30's. She had met my father when she was 15, married when she was 16, and pregnant with Kam and me by the age of 17. It was all like counterwork. But, it all ended in a quiet divorce when my parents realized they were only meant to be friends and only married on a whim of freedom. Kam and I were only infants at the time. But, though my father's 'work' always drug him away, he was faithful in his visits on birthday's, christmas's, Thanksgiving's, and anything else deemed important by us. That is, until three yeas ago.

"Hey mom, this is Jared." I replied, stepping back as she grabbed him in for a hug.

"Hello, Jared it's so nice to meet you." she stepped back from him and smiled her charming smile.

"You as well, Mrs. Mancini." He smiled politely, unknowingly calling my mother by my father's last name.

"Oh, please, call me Alexia or Lexi." She politely didn't correct him.

"Who do we have here?" My Grampy came wheeling himself out of his office, glasses on his nose, white and green plaid collar peeking out of an olive green sweater on with khaki's.

"Grampy, this is Jared Purser. He's here to work on a project for school.

"Oh, yes. Well, then I'll just be out of y'all's way then." He winked as he turned from me and rolled away.

"Hey, kim?" my mom asked, "You get those ingredients I needed?"

"Oh, yeah. I gave them to Kam." I answered smiling at how smoothly we could lie. It was sad if I thought about it too long. That's why I didn't.

"Great. Y'all need anything, holler, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Jared answered as I led him into the dining room to spread out our books and began. That went well.


End file.
